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New and Favorite Route! Between the East and the Northwest, Via Duluth! Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad.
St. Paul, Minnesota. 10 May 1872. Chromolithographic broadside (21” x 13”, plus margins). A handsomely printed, unrecorded broadside issued by the Lake Superior & Mississippi R.R. Co. just one year prior to the Panic of 1873 when the company folded. The Lake Superior & Mississippi R.R. (LS&M) served as the eastern terminus of the Northern Pacific R.R. and also linked the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River. Featuring the eye-catching mix of typefaces and colors that characterized railroad advertising in this era, this broadside advertises LS&M’s two express trains which ran daily between St. Paul, Stillwater, Minneapolis and Duluth. It is announced here that “this new and interesting route offers to the tourist and those seeking health and recreation one of the grandest pleasure excursions in the world.” Connecting lines are noted at Duluth, St. Paul and the Northern Pacific Junction. The latter, in particular, made connections with the Great Northern Pacific R’y for Brainerd, Ottertail, Morehead, Pembina, Fort Garry—“and all points on the Red River of the North.” Pullman's palace sleeping and drawing-room coaches were on all trains. A note addressed to shippers of freight reads as follows: “this route offers unequaled advantages. Its connection at Duluth with daily lines of fast and staunch steamboats running in close connection with Eastern Railroads, and at St. Paul with Railroads to all points in Minnesota, Northern Iowa, West Wisconsin, and on the Red River of the North, insures to its patrons quick time and low rates. A through freight line to all points on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers is made by daily connection with Northern Line Packet Co.’s Steamers at St. Paul and Stillwater.” Shippers are advised to mark their goods “Via Duluth.” Interested parties seeking full information and rates are encouraged to apply to Jos. Skelton, Gen. East. Agt., 263 Broadway, New York, or W.W. Hungerford, Gen. Sup't, St. Paul, Minn. The Lake Superior & Mississippi R.R. was incorporated in 1863 and was the first railroad to reach Duluth, Minnesota, as well as the first rail link between the Twin Cities and Duluth. Completed in 1870, the 154 miles of track connected Lake Superior with the Mississippi River—thus enabling the transport of goods to Lake Superior for shipping to eastern markets. The LS&M was a victim of the Panic of 1873, as the railroad company was freighted with financial commitments to the Northern Pacific Railway through the LS&M’s chief financier Jay Cooke. In turn, the LS&M reorganized in 1877 as the St. Paul and Duluth R.R., and became a part of the Northern Pacific R’y in 1900. No copies in OCLC. A splendid piece of color printing and midwestern railroad history. REFERENCES: Duluth’s Major Railroads at zenithcity.com; Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad History at lsmrr.org CONDITION: Minor losses and toning at margins, a few short tears at middle and lower right repaired with tape on verso.
Item #5834
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